Fairytale Ending
by Deadly Stormfly
Summary: <html><head></head>10 year old Emma Swan is a genius in high school and lives with her abusive foster mother,her stuttering causes her to be extremely shy around others,and she's completely afraid to trust anyone.When the Once Upon a Time cast comes to town she has a once and a life time encounter,after she returns home Emma wonders if she'll ever get to see any of the cast members again. Please R&R!</html>
1. Chapter 1

**Fairytale Ending**

**Hey fans, the reason I am having the cast working on season 3 is because at this point in time the actors for Snow White and Prince Charming do not have a son together yet. And I have no idea what those amazing writers are planning for season 4. Anyways I know I've done this before, but trust me this story is going to be a bit darker for poor little Emma, but don't worry there's always a light at the end of the tunnel. I have a feeling this might be my longest story yet so long as those lovely reviews keep the inspiration in me alive. ;) **

**Chapter 1**

Ten year old genius Emma Swan was getting ready for high school, that's right high school. Despite coming from a broken background she knew that the only way she could hope for a brighter future was through education. She started reading at a very young age, thanks to the only kind foster mother she ever had.

"Get your ass down here Emma, now!"

The ten year old sighs and glances at her mirror one last time to make sure her look was decent. She had on old torn up blue jeans, a black t-shirt that had the words Shatter Me on the front with the names Lindsey Stirling and Lzzy Hale on the back, sneakers, and her favorite old red hoodie. Knowing that this was the best she could do, she quickly but carefully grabs her black backpack and heads down the stairs.

"About damn time, some of us have to work around here you know" Her foster mother grumbles. This woman who constantly made Emma's life hell was no princess. She was about 5ft 5inches tall, thin, had a perfect tan, long red hair, with light green eyes. She was actually really pretty but she constantly brought home random guys overnight. Emma ignores her and is about to open the pantry so that she could grab herself an apple but the older woman quickly pulls her by her long blonde hair causing her to cry out. "What do you think you are doing?" She questions angrily.

Emma flinches and looks down at her feet once the woman finally released her grip on her. "I…I…wa…was…hu…hungry" She stutters quietly. Emma hated talking, not only was she painfully shy, but her speech was far from perfect.

"Oh you were hungry! Well maybe next time you'll remember this feeling when you decide not to get all your chores done before dinner" The hateful woman growls. Emma looks up at her with pleading eyes, but Angie huffs and walks over to the counter to grab her purse. "Let's go. I can't have the perfect little genius being late for school" She sneers.

Emma nods and follows her foster mother out the door. She knew trying to argue with the fact that she had a lot of homework last night would be completely pointless.

When they made it to the school parking lot the girl couldn't hop out of the old pick-up truck fast enough. She turns to look up at her foster who just glares at her as Emma closes the door and she finally drives away. Emma sighs tiredly.

"No way, you have to be lying!"

Emma blinks and glances over at the voices who have caught her attention. To her right where a bunch of juniors hanging out by their cars, Emma didn't know any of them personally. But they looked like a bunch of cheerleaders and jocks to her.

"I'm not, the Once Upon a Time cast is coming here today!"

Her heart pounds heavily against her chest at hearing this; that clearly had to be some kind of made up rumor. Once Upon a time was Emma's favorite show! It was the only thing she watched on TV. Although normally Emma was known to be a quiet girl at school except when having to answer questions in class she had to find out if this rumor was real or not. Despite being terrified of strangers she silently demands her pounding heart to calm down and slowly makes her way over to the small group.

"Umm…umm ex…excuse…me" Emma tries really hard not to stutter, but knew that was a complete fail.

Five pair of eyes turned to look down at her. There were three boys, and two girls.

"Who are you?" The tallest boy questions. All three boys wore a football school jersey, jeans, and sneakers. The tallest looked way above 6ft tall, he was very muscular, had short dirty blonde hair, and light brown eyes.

"I think that's the genius kid everyone was talking about at the beginning of the year" The raven hair girl speaks. She was about 5ft 3inches tall, she also had light brown eyes and wore a short skirt, heels, and a tight top, much like her friend who was probably just an inch or two shorter than her.

"What you want little one? Some candy or something?" Another jock snickers.

"Todd stop picking on the kid" She punches his arm.

"Owe damn it Lil I was just kidding" Todd grumbles. Todd was only about an inch shorter than the muscular looking jock who first spoke, he also had dirty blonde hair, but with light blue eyes.

"What you need sweetheart?" Lil asks with a friendly smile.

Emma isn't sure if the teenager is being genuinely kind or not, it was sometimes hard to tell with teenagers, but all she cared about was the information she wanted from them. "Umm…umm….I he…heard you….say….th…that….the…Once…Up…on a Ti…me…cast…..was com…ing…..here" Emma was exhausted, talking took too much work.

"What's with the stuttering, I thought you were some kind of genius"

"Knock it off Sam" Sam, the tallest jock receives a punch in the arm.

"Owe! Damn it Rose I was just curious" Sam grumbles annoyed.

"Not so fun is it" Todd mocks.

Rose ignores the boys as she rolls her hazel green eyes, Emma notices the red high lights in her short black hair. "Sorry about them they can be idiots"

"Anyway you were asking about the Once Upon a time cast right? Are you a fan?" Lil asks.

Emma nods shyly.

"Well today's your lucky day kid" The tallest jock speaks again.

Rose grins. "Yeah, the whole main cast is actually coming here at River high!" Rose throws her arms in excitement and Emma can't believe it.

"Really?...B…but…w…why?" She tilts her head curiously.

"Apparently because they want to film their third season here. Since we have so much land in this old town the writers of the show thought our town would be perfect. They're going to set up a Storybrooke look-a-like over here and use our forest for the Enchanted scenes as well as the Neverland scenes, it certainly is big enough, and I guess use the extra space for new places they may possibly want to write into the series" Lil explained excitedly all in one breath.

"Dang Lil breathe why don't you"

"Oh hush Jim, you know you are just as excited as I am" Lil huffs and folds her arms over her chest.

"But…are…they…co…coming…h…here…to…the…sch…school?" Emma stutters still in disbelief.

"Yup, apparently they need more extras so there going all over town announcing the news and letting people know" Rose chirps in happily.

"When?"

"When will they be here?" Rose asks. Emma nods. "Good question" Everyone looks over at Lil.

"What?! You all act like I know everything"

"Oh please Lil, there isn't nothing that goes on in this town that you don't know about. You always have the latest gossip" Rose rolls her eyes.

Lil grins playfully. "Well there are perks to being the mayor's daughter after all. Anyway my dad did say that they would be here around lunch time" she finally answers.

"This is so exciting! So kid who's your favorite character?" Everyone looks at her and she blinks suddenly feeling nervous.

"Umm…umm" She looks down at the ground. "I don't…really…ha..ve…a…fav…favorite…I like…th…them…all"

"Ah that's so lame, Regina is obviously the coolest" Lil says excitedly.

"No way! Ella Star is the coolest!" (Ella Star will be the main character's name in Once Upon a time, since Emma Swan is the main character in this story)

Now that she had her information Emma really wanted to just slowly back away and disappear, but she wondered if she could without the teens wondering why she wanted to leave. She just simply wasn't good with people. She knew that if she was around someone long enough they would eventually grow tired of her, frustrated with her, maybe even beat her, it's just how her life has always been. Nobody ever wanted to be with her for long, she would most likely always be alone, but at least when your alone people can't hurt you.

"Umm…tha…thank…you for…tel…telling me…abo…about…th…the…cas…cast…I have to…go…to…my…loc…locker…no…now" Emma quietly announces to the chattering group.

"No problem sweetie, hope you get to meet all your favorites today" Lil winks with a smile. Emma nods shyly before finally making her way into the school. By her observation she could see that those teenagers weren't too mean, the girls were very kind maybe a bit airheaded but kind. As for the boys Emma didn't sense any hateful nature from them, just most likely really obnoxious and prideful.

Once inside she sighs tiredly, why did talking have to feel like such a chore for her? All she wanted was to be normal like everyone else, but after the years of abuse she felt like she was constantly walking on egg shells. She was always afraid that she was going to say the wrong things, sometimes if someone yells at her enough she's been known to have panic attacks.

The day started out as a normal typical day, but all throughout her morning classes she constantly heard her older peers gossiping about the Once Upon a Time cast coming to visit the school later. It was exciting to think she might actually get to meet her favorite actors, but also terrifying. What if they hated her stuttering, what if they thought she was annoying, most people did. When lunch did finally roll around Emma was grateful that there was free food at school, it was the only time she really ever got to have anything anymore. Her stomach growled angrily at her for denying it food. The weekends were always the worst; it wasn't rare that her foster mother wouldn't allow her any food for the whole weekend, she was lucky enough to be allowed to have water at least. But that was because she would get water from the sink in the bathroom that she used upstairs. Her foster mother's master bedroom was downstairs.

When she got herself a tray of food which was filled with an apple, a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, a small bag of chips, and a small cup of white milk. Normally she would just eat the sandwich and stash the chips and apple into her backpack as a late night snack to eat at home after her foster mother went out, or fell asleep completely wasted.

Once she finished her sandwich alone, she stashed the apple and chips into her backpack. She jumps when she suddenly hears her peers cheering and screaming. When Emma turns to look over at the front entrance of the cafeteria her eyes are stunned, it was the cast of Once Upon a Time! There was Jennifer Morrison who played Ella Star, Lana Parrilla who played Regina, Josh Dallas who played prince Charming, and Jareed S Gilmore who played Henry! But before she could even react, the other students quickly rush over to the actors as she was slowly getting up from her seat. During the chaos she is knocked down to the ground which causes her to flinch in pain from her beaten body. She tries to get up but the noise and the constant movement of her peers caused her to freeze in fear. Once the students were all pretty far on the other side of the cafeteria Emma couldn't even see her idols over the sea of students anymore. Fighting back frustrated tears she carefully pushes herself off the ground but not without her body screaming at her in protest. When she was finally up Emma carefully had to lift her backpack off the ground and place it back over her shoulder. She fees her back screaming in agony, as well as her swore arms cried out to her. If she could just go a few nights without a cruel beating then maybe she wouldn't feel so weak and fragile all the time. Emma glares at the screaming students with annoyance before finally leaving the cafeteria through the back doors . Sure she would have loved to been able to say hi to the celebrities, but she knew that with her small size and bruised body she would never be able to get through the chaotic fans. When Emma steps outside she breathes a heavy sigh of sadness. All she wanted to was escape, she didn't even want to deal with school today, not when she felt like she was broken.

"I said no!"

Emma blinks when a shout of protest catches her attention. Judging by the direction the tone was coming from she makes her way around the small school and can't believe her eyes. In the empty parking lot aside from the cars stood Ginnifer Goodwin and Meghan Ory, the stars who played Snow White and Red Riding Hood! Emma hides behind a tree that isn't far from the two actresses and pokes her head out so that she can hear what the ladies are saying. The actress Ginnifer Goodwin and she looked angry as she spoke on her cell phone, while the other actress Meghan Ory looked concerned.

"I don't care how much they want to pay me, I am not letting that reporter ask questions about my past!" She hangs up on the other person and sighs heavily.

"You ok?" Meghan asks carefully.

"Just tired. Do we really have to do this today of all days? I love seeing the fans, but"

Meghan places a comforting hand on her coworker and friend. "Lana said that this was the last place, after that we get to hang out and do whatever we want for the next week before we start filming"

Emma couldn't believe what was she was seeing, she was actually seeing some of her favorite characters without any screaming fans nearby. Her mind screamed at her to go over to them and introduce herself, but her heart pounded violently and she was afraid the gorgeous stars wouldn't want anything to do with her.

"But today of all days Meghan" The actress looks at her companion with pleading eyes. Emma can see a great deal of sadness in those forest green eyes. She feels bad for the woman who gave her hope when she watched Once Upon a Time. "She would be about 10 years old now Meg" The woman quickly wipes away stubborn tears. She couldn't let herself break down like this, not when she was about to be surrounded by her fans.

Emma's heart pounds heavily as she watches Meghan try and comfort her friend. She couldn't stand to see the beautiful actress crying like this, she had to do something. An idea pops into her head as she carefully swings her backpack in front of her so that she can unzip it as the strap still hangs on her shoulder. She takes out her sketch book and flips through some of her old art work. A smile appears when she sees the sketch of Snow White, Prince Charming, and baby Ella in her arms smiling. She did this piece of sketch just a few months ago when things had gotten really bad for her, drawing helped Emma feel like she could escape her world, like she did when she watched Once Upon a Time. She rips the page carefully out of the sketch book and places the sketch book back into her backpack. As Emma finally makes her way over to the stars her body goes stiff when they turn around and see her coming. Ginnifer Goodwin quickly wipes away the tears with her arm as she turns away from Emma's gaze completely surprised at being caught. Emma silently screamed in her mind for her legs to move, but she just couldn't believe it, she was just a few steps away from two people who have brought light into her dark world but she just couldn't move.

Emma uses her free hand to shyly wave at them. "Umm…h…h….hi" She stutters as her cheeks redden.

Meghan gives the child a small smile and walks over to the girl while she allows Ginnifer some space. "Hi there little one. What are you doing here at the high school?" She questions as she kneels down to Emma's level. Emma stares in awe as she gets a closer look at the beautiful actress. Her long dark hair was straighten down perfectly, those bright green eyes looked so kind and inviting. She wore expensive looking clothes. She wore a red long sleeve sheer shirt, black leather pants, black laced boots, and a studded bracelet, it was one of the outfits Emma recognized from the show!

Unable to say anything she holds out her piece of artwork to the actress. Green eyes look at the sketch and is stunned, the details put into the artwork was amazing. As she holds the paper she looks back at the shy quiet girl. "Did you do this?" She asks stunned. Emma nods and looks down at the ground wishing she wasn't so nervous. She didn't want to stutter in front of these people. What if they couldn't stand her speech problem, not many people had much patient for her, the teachers here were only able to tolerate her because of her genius status. "This is amazing!" Meghan praises with a beautiful smile. This causes Emma to look up at the actress completely surprised by the praising words. Emma has never been praised for anything, not even reaching high school at such a young age. People just saw her as another genius kid gaining attention, someone who was trying to look better than normal kids. She never tried to appear better than anyone, she just wanted to get out of the foster care system as fast as she possibly could and she knew that instead of just having to wait until she was 18 the quickest way was through studying every minute she was able to. While she wasn't studying she was drawing. It was usually just cartoon like sketches at first, but when she turned 8 she started working on real life people and found that to be extremely challenging which she loved, it helped improve her art skills. The woman turns her head over to Ginnifer Goodwin who was finally making her way over to the actress and child. "Gin you have to see this" Meghan stands up so that her friend can get a good look at the artwork.

"She did this?" Gin asks with wide eyes while taking the sketch into her hands. Emma sees that Gin's clothes look just as expensive as Meghan's but it's nothing she's seen from the show. She wore a pretty white dress with a V-neck and pocket detailing on the side, as well as light grey Christian Louboutin pumps.

"Yeah, pretty amazing huh? I could barely stay in the lines when I colored in those coloring books at her age" Meghan shakes her head in awe as she places her hands on her hips.

"How old are you deer?" Gin asks with a warm mother like tone.

Emma blinks, why did she just think that her voice reminded her of a mother's gentleness? She wouldn't even know what a that was like. "Umm…u…umm…10"She stutters with a heavy sigh. Here she was with two beautiful amazing actresses and she couldn't even talk normal just this once! Emma looks down in shame, unable to look at them. "S…so…sorry…I…I….stt…stu….stutter" She explains softly and shamefully.

This time it is Gin who kneels down to the child's level. "Hey it's nothing to be ashamed of sweetheart. You're stuttering is a part of who you are; which is apparently a very talented young girl. I have no doubt that you can draw better than most adults out there in this world. I know for certain that I could never draw something this amazing. Do you think I could keep this, I could pay you for it"

Emma's head snaps up and her eyes go wide. "Yo…you…wa..want…m…my…a…art?"

"Sure do, and I would love your signature on it to. I have no doubt that you'll become famous one day" Gin winks at the speechless Emma.

"Gin, don't you think we should find this child's parents?" Meghan questions.

"Oh yes of course. Sweetie what are you doing at the high school? I'm sure the elementary teachers must be freaking out over you" The woman says calmly as she hands a pen from out of her pocket over to the child.

Emma signs her name on the sketch and hands it as well as the pen back to the actress. "I…g…go….h…here" she explains.

"What do you mean you go here?" Meghan asks with curiosity in her tone.

Emma smiles shyly. "I…umm…I'm…kin…kind…o…of…a…geni…genius" She shrugs.

"So you can draw, and you're a kid genius. Is there anything you can't do?" Meghan winks with a playful grin.

Emma blinks unsure of how to answer that. "Gin, are you and Meghan coming, the bell is about to ring and the students will be going back to their classes soon" Emma turns around and she can't believe her eyes. It was Lana Parrilla! Emma absolutely loved Regina's story in Once Upon a Time and she couldn't believe that she was looking at another one of her role models. Just like the other actresses Emma is mesmerized by the beautiful clothing she wore. Lana was dressed in a gorgeous black and white jacquard blazer top, black leather pants, and patent leather peep-toe pumps. She had her hair in a bobby-pinned updo with long side swept bangs.

"Lana you have to meet this kid, she's a genius and a talented artist!" Meghan praises excitedly.

Emma blushes when those dark chocolate eyes meet hers. "Hi sweetie, I hope my friends haven't bothered you too much" Lana smiles kindly. Again Emma felt as though her smile was genuine. Usually she could easily see through a person's false smile, she could also sense when someone was a threat to her. However while being with these people even for just a short while she hadn't felt any sense of danger or fake kindness.

"Look at this Lana, this little girl drew this all on her own" Gin hands the drawing over to her friend.

Eyes instantly go wide with awe, once again she looks at the quiet little girl. "You did this, by yourself?" Emma nods quietly. She still couldn't believe she was talking with these people, well they were doing most of the talking but still. It was Ginnifer Goodwin, Meghan Ory, and Lana Parrilla! She was sure that her heart was pounding loud enough that they could probably hear it.

"Your name's Emma?" Lana asks as she looks at the name written on the drawing. Gin glances at the name again completely surprised for she hadn't really looked at the name yet during her encounter with the child. There written on the beautiful sketch at the bottom right hand corner was the name Emma Swan. That name made her heart ache with a painful memory; her eyes looked as though they had become lost in the past. Emma instantly noticed the sudden change at Gin's attitude, she was always good at reading people, it's saved her on more than one occasion. Emma walks closer to the actress after nodding to Lana and gently pulls on her dress to gain her attention.

Gin blinks back tears that had been threatening to fall. "A…a…are…y…you…ok?" Emma stutters in her quiet voice.

Gin smiles sadly at the small child and nods. "I'm alright sweetheart, I was just lost in thought for a moment sorry about that" She answers calmly. Meghan and Lana share a concern look. Suddenly there is a loud ring that causes Emma to jump which causes her to flinch from her banged up body. "Oh dear it looks like we missed everything" Gin regretfully announces. "I'm so sorry Lana, it's just that Meghan and I were having such a nice conversation here with Emma" Gin smiles at the little girl and all her sadness is gone in an instant. Emma worries that the woman is hiding some kind of pain, but she doesn't ask, she didn't want to annoy the kind actress.

"Yeah this kid is really cool" Meghan grins.

"It's no big deal, the fans were plenty satisfied with who was there. We should get going though" says Lana.

"Oh yes, and this little one needs to get going to class as well" Gin gives Emma a friendly warning tone.

"She's a genius Gin, she could probably skip the class and still pass" Meghan replies.

"Genius or not she still has to go to class" Gin shakes her head at her friends teasing.

Emma smiles as she watches the three friends while wondering what it would be like to have friends like this. "I..it…wa..was…n…n…nice…mee…meeting…you…a…all" Emma once again talks in her tiny voice. These actresses may have been nice, but she was still insanely shy and always scared that she may say the wrong thing. So if spoke low enough and someone asks what she said in angry tone it would give her the chance to quickly change her answer.

"It was really nice to meet you to Emma. Thank you again for this amazing artwork, I can't wait to show it to Josh. He'll love it"

"Have a good day sweetie" Lana smiles.

"Yeah go kick those older kid's butts with your academic skills" Meghan cheers.

"Meghan!" Gin gasp.

"What?" She grins at her friend innocently. Gin and Lana just shake their heads. Emma smiles and wishes she didn't have to go but she was going to run late at this point if she didn't hurry. Ignoring the aching cries that came from her body Emma picks up her walking speed but not quite running as she waves goodbye to the stars and heads back towards the school. When she reaches to her class just barely making it in time she takes a seat in the back due to the front row already being filled. The child could feel her heart earning to return back to the parking lot to the wonderfully kind celebrities, but she knew they would be long gone by now and had probably already forgotten about her. She was simply just another fan they had to entertain, though very kind that was how they always acted towards their fans. And although the kindness wasn't an act, she wasn't anything special and they were around plenty of fans all the time. She was just another number in the fan pole, for them to remember her would be incredible. But even if they didn't remember she felt truly grateful that she got to meet them. She didn't have any autographs or pictures, but what she had was something more precious than any of those things, she had a happy memory. This would be a memory that she would never forget, when things get bad again at home she would put her mind back into the happiest moment of her life and it would help her make it through the painful moments that were destined to come.

During the rest of the day the teachers and students couldn't stop talking about the famous appearance from the Once Upon a Time cast. As for Emma she hated it when the day had finally ended as she gathered up the books she needed from her locker. Although she hated coming to school when her body was constantly aching, it was still better than being home. When she made it outside to the parking lot after gathering everything for tonight's homework she saw the familiar pick-up truck her foster mother drove. The woman was texting on her phone while she parked near the school, Emma sighed she knew that she was most likely texting to another random boyfriend. When Emma carefully hops into the truck the woman looks at her than places her phone down.

"Took you long enough. I got a date tonight so you won't have to worry about dinner. But I expect the rest of the chores to be done tonight. I don't want my new man toy coming home to a dirty place now do I" She grins cruelly.

Emma nods and looks down at the floor of the truck as Angie starts up the engine and pulls out of the parking lot. While on the way home Emma couldn't stop picturing the beautiful warm inviting smiles the famous celebrities gave her, she already missed Meghan Ory's playful attitude, Lana's gentle voice, and Gin's genuine kindness. It would be so nice to be able to see them again, even if only for just a few minutes but Emma knew that it would never happen. Sure they would be living in River Town while they worked on their new season, but she was certain that her chances of her running into them would be next to none. They would be on the fancier side of River Town, an area Emma has never been to. Emma sighed as she closed her eyes and leaned her head against the window. She replayed the happy memory over and over knowing that once she got home her fairytale would be over.

Gin was grateful to finally be back at the hotel. The day had been long meeting the fans all over River Town as a thank you for allowing them to record their show here, and letting folks know about the auditions for extras. The hotel that she and the rest of her coworkers were staying at was insanely gorgeous and the most expensive hotel in River Town. It was at least 13 stories high, it was a brick building hotel, though the place is one of the oldest buildings in River Town it was beautiful inside, completely modernize while keeping the history of the town alive as well. Among the wall had pictures of the important people from River Town's past.

"Gin you ok?" Lana asks concerned.

Gin blinks as she looks up at her friend. They had just entered the elevator to head for their rooms. The rest of the group were either at the bar or hanging out with Jared in the game room. "I'm fine" Gin replies with confused eyes.

"It's just, you haven't stopped looking at that picture since we left the school" Lana points out.

Gin sighs as she leans back against the wall in the elevator while it slowly moves up to the top floor. "Her name surprised me, that's all" Ginnifer finally explains.

"I thought that's what it was. You know that she isn't her right" Lana says carefully. She knew how hard this topic could be for her friend.

"I know, I know. My Emma is long dead, but she would have been that Emma's age. I can't believe it's been 8 years to this day when I lost my sweet baby girl" Gin tries to fight back the tears, but the aching emotions of a childless mother became too much. She had been putting on a brave face all day, especially for her husband. She knew that this day was just as painful for him as it was for her. Lana places a comforting arm around her friend and allows the woman to cry on her shoulders. The older woman wished that she could somehow help her friend, but all she could do right now was be there for her. It was strange that they met such a unique little girl with the same name and age that Gin's own daughter would have been. But both woman knew it was impossible to be anything more than a coincidence. There was no doubt that Emma Dallas had died tragically when she was just a tiny toddler.

**To Be Continued! **


	2. Chapter 2

**Fairytale Ending**

**Wow everyone I believe I am feeling the love, thank you so much for your inspiring reviews. By all means please keep them coming. **

**Chapter 2**

A few days have passed since Emma got to meet some of the cast members from Once Upon a Time and life hasn't really changed much. The school couldn't stop talking about the cast and the upcoming audition for extras. Emma has occasionally talked with the juniors in the parking lot when Angie would drop her off, not by choice mind you. They seemed to have taken a liking to her, of course during lunch she still mostly kept to herself. Those juniors weren't so bad, a bit hyper in the morning for Emma, but not bad people. As for Angie she actually hasn't been home the past few nights which have been really nice for Emma. The woman had been off at some boyfriend's place for a change instead of bringing him here. But obviously the short fling was over because she was back and already sucking down the beer bottles.

"W…w…what?" Emma asks with wide eyes.

"Are you deaf brat? I told you that I don't want you anymore, this man is paying me some good cash if I let him take you in" Angie grins cruelly. "Don't worry though, you'll get to live at that fancy ass hotel, apparently he owns half the place and he loves sweet little girls. I told him about your genius status and he thought you would look good for his image. Think about it, wealthy man adopts a kid, kid grows up to be extremely successful and it was all because the little girl was finally able to find the perfect home and an amazing father figure" She explains.

Emma can't believe it; it was like her world was crushing all around her all over again. Not even three months and she was changing homes again! She wanted to kick and scream, sure this woman has been nothing but cruel to her, but she never knew if the next home would be just as bad or worse.

"Pl…pl…please….d….d..don't….se…send…me….away!..I'll…b…be…g…go…good!" Emma begs as tears start to fall down her cheeks. She always begged to stay, she hated meeting new foster families. Her tiny body begins to shake; hiccups start to plague her while she wipes the unwanted tears away with her arms.

Angie rolls her eyes. "Stop whining brat, you get to live in a fancy ass hotel for crying out loud. Just be good for the owner and I'm sure you'll have a happy life" Angie mumbles annoyed. She walks over to the refrigerator and grabs another beer bottle. "Now go and get packed, Richard will be here in a few hours to pick you up" Angie orders while slamming the refrigerator door closed.

Emma flinches at the hateful tone but nods and makes her way up the stairs. She couldn't stop the tears as her fears swam around in her head, she could only imagine how cruel her latest foster home would be. It didn't take the girl long to pack, she was able to fit everything into her tiny dark purple suitcase. During the remaining time she managed to get all her weekend homework done. The child wished that it wasn't the weekend, if she had school tomorrow than she would at least be able to have some solitude time to herself away from her new foster parent and try and get used to the idea, it would give her time to absorb what tick the newest parent off and how to avoid the hateful anger. Time passed and Emma was able to finally tame her falling tears and annoying hiccups. She had cleaned herself up by washing her face, she knew red eyes wouldn't please her new foster father. Emma decides to pull out her sketch book in order to help clear her scared mind while killing time. She was working on a new piece of work, it was a drawing of the evil queen. She had just started working on the body after finally finishing on the head and hair, along with facial expression details just the other night. Emma wasn't sure how much time passed, when she gets working on a piece of artwork she loses her sense of time. But she suddenly hears the doorbell ring and her body goes completely stiff.

"Emma your new daddy is here!" Angie practically sings her words with joy. Emma sighs as she carefully lifts her backpack over her shoulder and starts to roll her suitcase down the wooden stairs. When she makes it down the stairs she can see her new foster father to be standing at the front door. Her feet are practically glued to the bottom stairs as she takes in his appearance. He looked like he was in his late 30s, he was very clean looking, his clothes screamed of money. Though he had on jeans, they looked expensive; he also wore a dark blue collared shirt, a black belt, and fancy black shoes. He had short black hair and dark brown eyes; he looked to be at least 6ft tall.

"Is that beautiful little angel her?" Richard smiles as his eyes meet Emma's. Emma stares back at him warily; she already didn't get a good vibe from this guy. Her mind was screaming at her to flee but she knew she wouldn't get very far.

"Yeah, yeah that's her. Now about that money" Angie reminds him than blocks his view of the girl with her hand held out.

Richard continues to smile and pulls out his checkbook out of his pocket. "Yes, yes of course. Her you go, it's a pleasure doing business with you Angie. Thank you so much for letting me get to know her social worker and helping me gather up all the paperwork I needed to make her officially my daughter" He hands her the check. Emma couldn't believe it, her social worker although a nice woman was always so easily fooled. Angie moves to the side so that he could see the child once again. "Come along Emma, you and I have a photo shoot to announce your arrival!" He says excitedly. Emma blinks unsure of what he could possibly mean by a photo-shoot. She carefully and cautiously follows the man outside and stares in awe at his fancy new sports car, only a handful of people in River Town owned brand new cars, most people in this town were middle class, not filthy rich. It was red and flashy; Emma hated it when people liked to show off their wealth. The ride started out quiet until Richard insisted on talking. "You being here is going to be great Emma! Father has been on my case to make it look like I have some kind of moral goodness inside" The wealthy man rolls her eyes. Emma glances at the man with a blank expression; she was carefully reading the man who just adopted her and she still didn't like the what she felt about this man, her instincts were warning her not to trust this stranger. "You see I have a pretty bad reputation around here, people no I'm no stranger to partying and brining the ladies over for an evening of fun. I needed some kind of cover to make my father see that I'm a changed person. Because he says that if I don't change my ways soon he's threatening to hand over the half of my ownership of the River Town hotel, along with the other hotels our family owns in different states over to my perfect little brother that father seems to clearly love more than his first born son" Richard spits out angrily. "But you're going to change everything for me. You'll make my father see how good of man I am by adopting you as my own little girl" He places his right hand over Emma's thigh and her body instantly goes stiff as he rubs it gently. He gives a friendly smile that was completely fake in every way. "You're going to be a good little girl and do as daddy says right? If you do I'll let you have anything you want within reason of course" He doesn't even bother to wait for an answer from Emma as he focuses his attention back on the road, but not removing his hand from Emma.

Emma wanted to scream and shout at this creep for touching her, but her body wouldn't listen to her. It wasn't as if this was new territory for her, but it has actually been a while and she didn't want to go back to that dark place again. When they finally arrived to the most popular hotel in River Town Emma was in awe at all the people gathering around the place. There were people flashing cameras as soon as Richard parked right in front of the hotel.

"Mr. Richard are the rumors true did you really adopt a child!?" A random reporter from the crowd shouts just as Richard steps out of his vehicle. Emma blinks, she doesn't want to step outside with all those people; it looked as though half the town had come barging in for some kind of photo or answer. She shrinks herself down into the seat wishing she could disappear. A man in the hotel uniform opens her door and stands straight waiting for her to step out.

Richard smiles to his fans. "Let it be known, as of today I am a proud father. Come on out Emma, don't be shy" Richard encourages. Emma knows she can no long hide so she steps out with the backpack over her shoulder, while the man who opened her door goes to get her suitcase out of the trunk. She has the backpack hanging in front of her as she hugs it silently wishing she could hide herself behind the backpack.

"Oh my goodness Richard, she is so cute!" A girl from the crowd screams.

"How old is she Richard, what made you want to adopt?!" The reporter questions as others gather around him and hold out their tape recorders to him, while others are flashing cameras at Emma. Emma felt like she was going to faint with all the flashing lights. This was all too much; she didn't do well with crowds.

"Emma is 10 years old. As many of you all know I'm no stranger to partying out late into the evening. I thought by adopting someone like Emma who comes from so little would help me appreciate more of what I have, and help me grow into a better and more responsible person" Richard explains smoothly. Emma looks up at Richard who is busy smiling at the cameras and waving to the people of River Town. Despite being young Emma wasn't stupid, she was a genius after all. She couldn't understand how these people were falling for his act. She was going to have to keep her guard up around this man. If he thought for one second she wouldn't go down without a fight he must be stupid. Despite being painfully shy, when the abuse became physical Emma always tried to fight back for as long as she could even if it was all completely useless she knew she just had to try. "Ok, it was nice seeing everyone but I'm sure Emma is ready to get settled in and explore her new home" Richard waves as he makes his way into the hotel, with Emma in tow. Emma blinks when she sees another man with a camera coming over to them once they stepped inside.

"Are you ready for that photo-shoot Mr. Blake?" The photographer asks.

No, no more pictures, Emma was still dizzy from all the flashing lights she had just endured, not to mention the huge crowd. She starts to breath heavily, her body begins to shake. She can't handle all of this kind of exposure.

"I'm ready. Let's get this over with. I have a business meeting I need to get to" He answers not even noticing Emma's condition. He finally turns to look down at the girl as the camera man walks away, he snatches up her backpack and her eyes go wide. "You won't need this in the photo-shoot. Maria" He calls. A young Hispanic woman in her late 20s walks over to them in a maid's outfit.

"Yes Mr. Blake, how can I help you today?" She wears a smile, but Emma could easily see this woman wasn't happy, she obviously hated her job.

"Take this up to Emma's room please" He tosses the backpack over to the maid. "Follow me Emma, as soon as we finish the photo-shoot Maria will come and show you to your room" He orders. Maria is already gone when Emma silently follows the wealthy man. Her stomach growls angrily at her, the last thing she had was an apple late last night. She does her best to ignore the beastly stomach. When the photo-shoot finally ended Emma felt completely exhausted. The irritating camera man kept ordering her to smile and to hug her new father. She wanted to spit at that word, this man would never be her father; she didn't care if he had officially adopted her. Emma wanted to scream, her dreams of wanting to get adopted had finally come true but this wasn't what she wanted, she wanted a real family. A family that really loved her, was she really such a horrible kid that nobody could ever truly want her? Emma silently followed the young Hispanic maid to the elevator after Richard parted ways explaining that he was going to be very busy the next few days.

Meanwhile at the bar in the hotel a beautiful actress was enjoying her time with her friends and her husband. "Hey guys you should have seen the crowd that was just outside" said Jared coming in from the game room. Although Jared obviously couldn't drink he was able to hang out at the bar with everyone.

"Oh I saw that when I was making my way over here, it's nice to not have all those flashing lights at us for a change" Lee Arenberg says just before taking a sip of his beer. (Lee Arenberge plays Leroy/Grumpy)

"What do you think all the fuss was about?" Gin questions curiously.

"That would be Richard Blake" The bartender answers. The bartender hands Lana another drink of red of wine and the actress thanks her.

"Richard Blake, the owner?" Gin replies. She remembers being welcomed by a man named Richard when she and her friends first arrived to this hotel. He was a bit overly friendly in her opinion; something about him had just felt off.

"That's right; well he owns half the place anyway along with his brother. Their pretty well known here in River Town, they own many other hotels outside of River Town also" She explains. The bartender with the name tag Jessica was in her early 20s, she had long brown hair, and dark brown eyes.

"So is it always like that when he comes to one of his hotels?" Jennifer Morrison asks. She chugs down the last of her beer.

"Not like this, but he's adopted a child today. It's kind of a big deal. Richard is known for being a party animal, he's trying to turn over a new leaf so he's decided to become a father" Jessica explains, she hands Jennifer another bottle.

"That sounds noble of him" Says Josh.

"Yeah, but deciding to be a parent is a lot of responsibility, it's not like just suddenly adopting a pet" Gin comments, a hint of worry in her tone.

"Don't worry. I think this will actually be good for Richard. He's actually a really nice guy; he's just made a few mistakes in his life. But who hasn't right?" Jessica explains casually.

Gin and Josh look at each other with an unconvincing gaze but they do not question the bartender anymore on the topic.

"I wonder if the kid he adopted is close to my age" Says Jared as he leans his arms against the bar, standing next to Lana.

"I'm sure you'll run into them eventually kid" Jennifer grins and ruffles his hair playfully. She was sitting on the stool to his right side, while Lana was sitting on the stool at his left. Even off set Jennifer had grown accustom to calling Jared kid. (Though I'm not sure if this is true or not, but I can easily see them bonding like this. Based on some interviews I've seen the cast just seems really close like a real family and they all seem so nice, I would kill to meet anyone of them in person) The group laughs at Jared's little scowl as he tries to fix his hair.

Meanwhile at the top floor Emma is in complete awe at her room. This room was huge; there was a kitchen with a bar and island in the center of the kitchen, a living room, a huge bedroom with a flat screen, a balcony that you could step out to from the living room with the screen glass door, a master bathroom, and a huge walk-in closet!

"Will Miss Swan be needing any help to unpack?" Maria asks with a bored like tone.

Emma could see her suitcase waiting for her on the bed. She turns around to face the maid. "N…no…th…thank…yo…you…I'm…go…good" Emma answers. The maid nods and takes her leave after leaving a key card on the bar counter for Emma. Emma sighs once she is alone. She feels tired with a light headache starting to grow; Emma makes her way over to the bedroom with the queen size bed. She carefully tosses her backpack onto the bed next to her suitcase. Part of her wanted to explore her new home, but another part of her needed sleep. Her stomach growls once again demanding her for food, Emma places her hands over her stomach and silently pleads for the pain to leave her alone. Ignoring the demands and knowing sleep wouldn't come easy she decides to go explore. Just before walking out of her new room she grabs the key card and places it in her back pocket, she memorizes the number on her door than finally makes her way towards the elevator.

Back downstairs at the bar Jennifer Morrison and Lana Parrilla are playing pool.

"I think Lana is going to win" Jared grins as he watches the two women play.

"Way to pick teams kid" Jen rolls her eyes, and Jared shrugs innocently. He is now sitting on Lana's seat as he watches them play along with Ginnifer, Josh, Lee Arenberg, and Meghan Ory who had recently joined the group after hanging out at the pool. She has her bikini on under her red cover-up dress.

"I think I'm going to head outside for a bit" Gin announces as she stands up.

"Would you like me to come with you?" Josh asks.

Gin smiles. "I'm alright dear; I just need some fresh air. You stay here and have fun, I'll be back soon" Gin places a quick but loving kiss on her husband's lips.

Green eyes couldn't stop staring in awe at her new surroundings, the ceilings were high the people looked wealthy with their fancy clothes, it made Emma feel very out of place. She looks down at the floor and places her hoodie over her head as she continues to walk around the hotel. Deep in thought over everything that's happen as she tries to ignore the growing headache, she suddenly bumps into something which causes her to fall to the floor on her bottom.

"Oh my, are you all right sweetheart?" That voice. Emma would know that voice anywhere, she looks up and green eyes meet with matching green.

"Emma?" The actress says surprised. Emma blinks unable to move or think as her heart pounds heavily, could this really be happening!? "What are you doing here?" She questions. The older woman holds out her hand to help the child back onto her feet. At first Emma is hesitant but she eventually accepts the offer and is glad to be back on her fee.

"So…sorry…I…I…wa…wa…wasn't…pa…pay…paying….att…attention" Emma quickly apologizing hoping the actress will not be mad at her.

Gin smiles softly. "It's alright sweetie, I wasn't looking where I was going either. So I suppose we are both at fault. Are you visiting someone here?" Gin asks curiously.

"Umm…umm" Emma didn't want to say she had been an orphan up until now, but she didn't want to lie to the beautiful actress either. "I…I…l…li…live…he…here" she mumbles softly.

"Really, that's exciting. Would you like to take a walk with me. I was just on my way outside" Gin asks. The actress isn't sure what it is about this child but she wanted to spend time with the girl, get to know this shy little one.

Emma blinks. "You…wa…want…to…ha..hang…ou…ou…out…wi…wit…with…me?" she stutters in disbelief.

"Of course I do, only if you wish to of course" Gin smiles genuinely. Emma can only nod for she is speechless, this was Ginnifer Goodwin for crying out loud. And the actress wanted to hang out with her! As they started to make their way out the back entrance Emma noticed that the older woman was dressed more casually today. She wore boyfriend blue jeans, a white lose button down shirt, a thin black jacket, with comfortable flip flops to finish off the casual wear. It was so strange seeing the star in such casual clothes, she didn't feel so intimidated when the celebrity looked like she was in normal clothing and not top designer outfits.

"You know, Josh really loved that drawing you did. He couldn't believe that a ten year old little girl drew it. I had to have Lana and Meghan vouch for me that I wasn't lying" Gin praises as the two walk the garden pathway that the hotel had outback. The pool was inside next to the game room, while outside the hotel was a vast garden with butterflies flying around and all kinds of different flowers to look at. The path was a giant circle that was a couple of miles long and lead you right back to the hotel back entrance.

"H…he…li…lik…liked…it?" Emma looks up at the actress in awe.

Gin giggles. "Of course, did you really doubt he would?" she smiles.

"Umm…umm" Emma flushes unsure how to answer the woman.

Gin frowns. "Surely people have praised your work before" Emma looks down in shame, she had always been afraid to show her work to anyone before. She was always proud of her art skills, but she was worried people would hate it, tell her that she was wasting time. "Emma?" The actress says concerned.

"Umm…I…do…do…don't…sh..sho…show…my…ar…art…to…pe…pe…people" she stutters softly.

"Really, then why did you show me?"

"Be…because…yo…you…lo…lo…looked…sa…sad…I…wa…want…wanted….to….hel…help…I….th…thou…thought…I…do…don…don't….kn…kno…."Emma sighs in frustration as she tries to get everything out, but it was just too much. Between the killing headache and her stomach pains it was becoming even more difficult to talk, she just wanted to disappear.

Gin stops walking and kneels down in front of Emma so that the girl would look at her. She surprises the child even more when suddenly warm arms are embracing her. Emma's eyes go complete wide as saucers as she tries to absorb what was happening, she can't even remember the last time when someone has actually hugged her like this.

"Thank you Emma, I really needed that then. You helped me more than you'll possibly ever know" Her words are kind and real and Emma can't stop her heavy heart pounding. Suddenly the headache starts to become too much, the lack of food was draining her, she was tired. So tired of fighting, in Gin's arms she felt safe. If she closed her eyes here she wouldn't have to worry about the consequences just this once maybe she could finally sleep without fear. Emma wraps her tiny arms around Gin's neck and allows her head to rest on her shoulder as she closes her eyes. She doesn't want to leave the comfort she had longed for so many years. She allows her mind to go completely blank and the darkness slowly consumes her exhausted form. The actress suddenly feels Emma going limp in her arms, she pulls her out just enough so that she can see the girl has indeed passed out. "Emma!?" Her voice is filled with worry as the child doesn't wake up. "Emma!" She cries as she gently shakes the girl and tries to wake her. Unable to wake she starts to move on instinct and lifts the girl into her arms. She rushes back into the hotel and starts crying for help. "Please someone help!" Gin's heart is going 20 miles an hour as fear rushes through her system, images of the past begin to haunt her. She quickly shakes her head, no she had to be strong. Emma needed her. Eventually she is able to gain an employee's attention who leads her to the hotel's personal doctor and they bring the child to the room where he takes care of his patience.

Gin is waiting just outside as the doctor exams Emma. She is pacing back and forth with hands behind her back, unable to calm herself.

"Gin what's wrong, are you all right?!" Gin looks up grateful to see Josh. She instantly runs into her husband's arms. She had texted her husband and told him where she was. "Gin what happened, I get a text saying that you're with the hotel's doctor all in caps, is everything all right?" He asks filled with worry, Gin can hear his heart pounding against her ear as her head rested against his chest.

"I'm all right, I'm all right" She quickly assures her husband. "It's Emma. That girl I told you about, the one who drew that picture of us and baby Ella. It turns out she lives here, she and I were enjoying a nice walk in the garden out back and all of the sudden she just passed out on me" Gin explains as she pulls out of her husband's arms so that he can see how scared she is for the girl.

Before Josh could try and comfort his wife the doctor's door finally opens. The couple turn their attention on the young man, he looked to be in his late 30s. He was slightly taller than Josh, has short light blonde hair, dark blue eyes, and wore the typical doctor's attire. "Dr. Wyatt is she ok?" Gin quickly asks. She had received his name when one of the employees had led her to the man.

"She's awake now. However this girl is seriously malnourished, she is far too underweight for her size. She said before passing out she was having painful headaches which could be due to her hunger"

"She never said anything" Gin quickly states.

Dr. Wyatt sighs. "I'm not surprised. Most kids like her aren't very open about discomforts" He explains as he jots down some notes.

"Kids like her?" Josh questions curiously.

"Didn't you know? Emma used to be in foster care. The owner Richard Blake just adopted her and was finally able to bring her here today so that she could live here"

"Adopted?" Gin is completely surprised. Though Emma did say that she lived here, she said nothing about being adopting or foster care. "Wait you said she was underweight"

Dr. Wyatt nods. "Yeah it's obvious that she doesn't eat very much. She probably hadn't even open up to Mr. Blake yet I'm sure. Would you be so kind as to lead her to one of the hotel restaurants so that she can get some food in her, it'll be free for her of course. I guess during all the chaos Mr. Blake forgot to mention to the child that she is able to have any amount of food she would like since she is one of the owner's daughter now"

"Seems like a pretty important thing to forget to mention to your knew daughter" Josh says with a hint of aggravation.

"Yes, well Mr. Blake has been under a lot of pressure lately by his father. You two may go and see Emma if you like" Dr. Wyatt walked away back into his office as Josh glared at the man. He didn't like how casually he talked about Emma's condition as if nothing serious had just happened. Although he has yet to meet the girl he didn't get a good vibe from this doctor. Gin moved the moment she was allowed to see Emma with Josh shortly walking into the room right after her.

"Oh Emma, are you all right?" She asks quickly rushing over to the girl. Emma is sitting up on the patient bed when Gin walks in.

Eyes go wide with fear. "So..so…so…sorr…sorry…I…I…di…didn't…mea…mean…to…cau…cause…tro…tro…trouble!" She quickly apologizes and hopes the actress won't hate her.

Gin is stunned by the fear in the girl's eyes. "No, no sweetheart it's ok. I wish you had told me you weren't feeling well though, I wouldn't have asked you to walk with me" she explains.

Emma shakes her head quickly. "I…I…wa…wan…wanted…to…you…your…ni…nice"

Gin gives the girl a small smile and she begins to wonders what might have happened to the girl while she was in the foster care system to force herself not to let people know when she was in pain. "Anyway I'm so glad that your all right. Emma I want you to meet my husband Josh" Gin looks over and smiles brightly at her other half.

Emma's eyes go wide in awe. "Ch…char…charming!" she squeaks excitedly.

Josh chuckles lightly. "Well that is my character's name yes. It's so nice to finally meet the young famous artist my wife couldn't stop talking about when she showed me your drawing"

Emma blushes as she looks down and swings her legs back and forth nervously. "No..not…fam…famous" She stutters softly.

"Not yet your aren't, but my wife claims that you will be with talent like that someday, and my wife isn't usually wrong" He grins proudly over to his wife.

"Josh stop teasing the poor girl. Now Emma let's go and get you something to eat shall we, doctor's orders"

"Bu…but…I…I…do…don't…ha…ha…have…mon…money"

"It's ok, apparently you get to have all the free food you want because you're the owner's daughter" Gin explains.

"R…re…really?" Emma asks skeptically.

Gin frowns, just how often had Emma been forced to go without food? "Yes really, now come with us sweetie and well show you where you can get something to eat" Emma nods and carefully hops off the bed and lands onto her feet next to Gin.

"Umm…umm…tha…thank…yo…you"

"For what dear?"'

"For…ever…every….everything" Emma looks up and gives Gin the smallest of smiles. Despite the tiny smile Gin felt as though it lit up her world, she wanted to see Emma smile more with less of a wall around her.

"You're welcome sweetie"

The trio finally make their way out of the room only to be stopped by a worried Richard. "Oh Emma thank God your all right! I came rushing over as soon as I heard you fainted, the news would have gotten to me sooner if it wasn't for that terribly long meeting. Are you ok now?"

Emma nods. "Ju…ju…just…hu…hung…hungry" she explains.

"Damn I'm such a fool. I'm so sorry Emma. I completely forgot to let you know that you can have whatever you like to eat, it's completely free at any time of hour you like" He explains. "Man first day as a father and I'm ready messing up"

"I'll say" Josh mumbles.

"Josh!" Gin gasps surprised at her husband. "I'm sorry about that Mr. Blake. Don't worry, being a parent isn't easy. It'll take some time getting used to it but if you care about Emma then I'm sure you'll get the hang of it" Gin quickly replies. Although she didn't completely trust this man either, that doesn't mean she can be rude to him, Josh knew this as well.

Richard sighs. "Please just call me Richard. After all you have been such a big help with Emma, I'm so thankful that you were there with her when she fainted" He smiles a dashing smile that Emma doesn't like. She could easily see that this man was acting. She glances up at Josh who has his arms folded and looked as though he was controlling his temper, did he see through Richard's act as well.

"It's no trouble Richard, Emma is such a sweet child I'm glad I was there for her as well. We were just on our way to show her where she could get something to eat"

"Oh yes, yes of course. Here Emma I want you to have this" Emma blinks when she sees a small flip phone being handed to her. "It's just for emergency, due to my hectic schedule I may not always be around. But even if I'm in a meeting all you have to do is call me from the number I put in there and it'll go straight to my personal cell phone" He explains.

Emma looks at the phone like a foreign object, she has never had a cell phone before. Although it wasn't a smart phone like she sees most people using, it was still pretty weird to have a cell phone of any kind at all. "Umm…th…than…thanks" She says uncertain. He was acting too nice, and she didn't like it.

"I'm sorry it's not fancy or anything, but I don't think anyone your age needs a fancy phone, just one for emergencies. Anyway now that I see you are ok I need to get back to work. Thank you two again so much for watching after my daughter" He looks up at Gin and Josh with his dashing smile.

"It's no trouble at all. Emma is delightful to have around" Gin says honestly. Emma looks over at the actress who smiles back at the child.

"Right then, I'll see you later tonight Emma. I'm usually off duty around 8" He nods his head to the girl before finally taking his leave.

"Now then shall we go and get something to eat Emma?" Gin asks as she holds her hand out to the small girl. Emma looks at the hand warily but she eventually accepts the warm hand into her one. Although Gin didn't know much about this child she was certain so long as she was around she would do everything in her power to make sure that what had happened today would never repeat itself. The moment she had felt Emma go limp in her arms, bad memories started to haunt her mind. She never wanted to experience that again.

**To Be Continued! **


	3. Chapter 3

Author's Note

Hey everyone I hate to say this but I have lost interest in this story. I know I just started this story, but I really want to work on finish my other How To Train Your Dragon story because I have been letting that poor story sit forever. If anyone wishes to finish this story please let know by October 30th. That will be the date I delete this story, so give me a heads up if you would like to continue this story. Just give me credit for the first two chapters, after that you can do whatever you want with the story. Again I apologize to my readers but I really do need to finish my other story and I just don't really have the will to continue a similar story plot that I have already done. The next time I do a Once Upon A Time story I'll wait till I have a few chapters already written out and have a completely new kind of plot in order to allow my writing skills to continue to grow.


	4. Chapter 4

**Fairytale Ending**

**With all the demands for me to continue this story I guess I can't just leave you all hanging. At first I didn't really think many folks would care if I finished or not, but boy did you guys prove me wrong! Anyway I know this chapter is pretty short compared to the others but I won't be able to write very long chapters all the time due to school and life getting in the way, but I hope you continue to like the story just the same. Also I have awesome news! I got accepted into my dream school where I will be studying to learn how to become a trained interpreter in sign language and I can't wait! Please continue to review and show the love! **

**Chapter 3**

Emma couldn't believe her eyes as she stared at the full plate of food. She had ordered a cheeseburger and fries for the first in God know how long!

"Well go on dear, eat" Gin smiles. Emma nods and doesn't argue as she quickly digs into the warm freshly made burger.

"Well she and Jennifer would certainly get along" Emilie (Actress for Belle) chuckles.

"She certainly eats like her" Josh nods with a playful grin.

"Umm hello I'm right here people and I don't eat that badly" Jennifer pouts.

"Please, you suck up everything like a vacuum Jen" Lana teases as she takes a sip of her wine.

The group of actors had brought Emma to one of the hotel restaurants after introducing Emma to some of the cast members she hadn't been able to see at school. Emma had been completely star struck, she was still pretty shy around them but she didn't feel an air of hate around them and she felt a lot more comfortable around them than she had around Richard. She was sitting between Gin and Lana, while Josh sat next Gin, Jennifer sat between Josh and Emilie, while Meghan sat between Emilie and Lana.

"So Emma do you have a favorite character?" Meghan asks with a playful grin.

Emma blinks as she sees all the actors suddenly staring at her. She ducks down shyly, her cheeks becoming bright red. "Umm…umm…"

"Oh Meghan stop teasing the poor girl" replies Gin.

"It's all right Emma nobody will be mad, were just curious" Meghan ignores Gin.

"I…I….Li…Lik…like…all…the…char…characters" She finally answers.

"Awe she's just so cute!" Lana brings Emma into her arms and Emma couldn't get the blush to leave her cheeks.

"Lana she needs to eat" Gin sighs.

Lana chuckles as she lets Emma go and the child easily digs back into her meal.

"That picture you drew was really amazing Emma, do you think I could get an Emma original picture to?" Jennifer asks.

Emma looks up at Jennifer in surprise. "Yo…you…wa…wan…want…me…to…dr…draw…you…some…something?" She asks completely stunned.

Jen smiles. "Of course, I wish I could draw that good"

"Oh maybe you could draw a picture of Red in her wolf form with Red standing next to the wolf! That would be really cool!" Meghan cheered.

"You guys one person at a time" Gin laughs.

Emma looks at Jen. "Wh…what…is…yo…your…favo…favorite…fair…fairyt….fairytale?" Emma asks curiously as she tries to think of what she can draw for the actress.

Jen thinks for a moment. "I guess I would have to say it's a tie between Alice and Cinderella" She explains with a warm smile. (She actually says this in an interview)

Emma nods already coming up with a great idea.

"I…co…cou…could…dr…draw…yo…you…as….Al…Ali…Alice….an…and…Cin…Cinde….Cinderella…an…and…may…maybe…a….coo….cool….back…background…wi…with…th….that…craz...

crazy…cat...an…and…so…some…of…the…mi…mice" Emma sighs as she takes a sip of water to clear her throat. It was always hurt to talk so much at once, it drained her because it took so much time to get everything out.

"That would be awesome! Could you really do that?!" Jen asks excitedly.

Emma nods and takes the last bite of her fries, her stomach feeling full for the first time in ages.

"I…it…wi…will…ta…take….ti…tim….time" she explains.

"No worries. Take all the time you need, I know you have to keep up with your school work and everything; that comes first of course" Jen smiles.

"Speaking of school Emma, that's amazing you're in high school already and only at 10 years old! You must really love to learn" Gin praises. She hated seeing Emma look so exhausted when she talked, the actress couldn't imagine how much of a struggle and frustration her stuttering must be on the poor girl. Gin found herself really enjoying her time with Emma, and she would wait all day just to hear the girl say anything to her, it didn't frustrated her at all that she had to wait patiently for the girl to get out all of her words. She was grateful that her friends seemed to have the same amount of patience as she did for the child.

Emma nods. "I…I…lea…learned…to…read…rea…really…youn….young…and…ju…jus…just…coul…could…couldn't…stop" The genius explains in her shy tone.

"I love to read to. Gin here is a huge Potter head though" Jennifer teases.

Emma looks over at Gin with curious eyes. The actress shrugs and smiles. "It's true I'm a big Potter fan"

"If we dress up as Hogwart students, she usually goes as Harry" Josh chuckles.

"I love to dress up as a slytherin" Lana grins playfully.

"Do you like Harry Potter, Emma!?" Emilie asks.

Emma nods excitedly. "I…rea…read…al…all…th…the…boo…books!"

Gin beams as she notices Emma relaxing more and appearing to look more comfortable around her and her friends. "What about the movies? Tell me you've seen the movies?!" Meghan questions the genius.

Emma ducks her head down feeling ashamed that she hasn't been able to see any of the movies, people often claimed her not to be a real fan for not having seen them and just reading the books. Books were easier to get a hold of then movies, you could hide them and read them at night whenever everyone else was asleep. Emma shakes her head and doesn't look at anyone.

"I…I…wa…was…ne…nev…never…all…allow…allowed…I…onl…only…go..got….to…re…rea…read…th…the…bo…book…books…bec..because…I…co…coul…could…che…check…the…them…ou…out…fro…from…the…public…public…li…libr….library" Emma sighs. She takes a sip of her water before continuing to speak.

"Thi…this…on…one…fam…fam…famil…family…wa…was…rea…really…religi…religi…religious…the…they…hat…hate…hated…any…anything…to…do…wi…with…ma…mag…magic…I…be…begged…fo...for…the…them…to…let…me...see…the…mo…movies…but…they…wo…woul…wouldn't…le…let…me…an…and…no…oth…other…fami…family…woul…would…bother…to…re…rent…or…bu…buy…them…for…me" she explained, taking another sip of her water. This had to be the most she has ever spoken to anyone in a long time. Normally she avoided long conversations like this. The only reason she had been able to watch Once Upon a Time was because it was on TV and whatever foster parents she was staying at where usually out really late, even the crazy religious ones. There have been a few times she got caught watching the show but no matter the consequences she continued to watch it because it was the only thing that gave her hope.

"Gin we absolutely have to have a Potter marathon for this girl!" Jen demands excitedly.

"I agree" Josh grins.

"Hey you all don't have to convince me, I'm the biggest Potter head at this table remember" Gin replies.

"Guess I better pull out my Slytherin scarf" Lana beams.

"I'm more of a Huffelpuff girl myself" Emilie replies. (Not sure if Emilie is even a Harry Potter fan or not because I couldn't find anything online about her liking or disliking Harry Potter so I decided to put her in a random house. I know for a fact that Gin, Jen, and Josh are Harry Potter fans because you can google and see them all dressed up. I don't know why I picture Lana going more towards Slytherin than Gryffindor, maybe because of her role as the evil queen is just so damn good. Also if you ever watch interviews of her or any bloopers of her, you can see that she is so damn funny and sweet, completely opposite of her role but I think she enjoys playing on the dark side to hehe)

"You brought all the movies here, didn't you Gin?" Meghan asks hopefully.

Gin grins and rolls her eyes. "Don't I always pack them with me Meg?" Meghan giggles.

Emma looks up at everyone with wide eyes her heart pounding, they still wanted to hang out with her? She could actually finally get to see the Harry Potter movies? "Umm…umm….w…wh…why?" Emma questions softly.

It was Gin who heard her first. "Why what sweetheart?"

"W…wh…why…do…yo…you…wa…wan…want…to…ha…han…hang…ou…out….wi…with…me,…doe…doesn't…my…stu…stu…stutt….stuttering….bot…bother….yo…you?...Yo…You…don…don't…ha…ha….ha…have…to….pre…pre…pretend…to….be….ni…nic…nice…to…me" Emma explains. Her hands are in her lap, and once again her head is down as she unable to look at the beautiful people who surrounded her. She should leave, head back to her room and never bother these people again. They have already been kinder to her than most folks have been her whole life. Even if the kindness was real she was probably just another fan to them, and she didn't want to push her luck with these people. She knew if she was around them long enough they would grow tired of her, they would become frustrated with how long it takes her to say one simple sentence. Sometimes it irritated Emma that she could be such a genius and yet she couldn't even have a normal conversation without growing tired from trying to get out her words. This is why Emma loved to read. When she was reading things silently to herself, the words wouldn't stutter in her mind, she felt normal when she read, but she could never feel normal when she talked.

"Emma we want to hang out with you because we like you" Lana says honestly. The actress felt so horrible for the young girl, she couldn't imagine how many times people walked away from her because they couldn't have a little patience just to listen to what she had to say. It wasn't her fault that she had a speech problem.

"That's right, your stuttering doesn't bother us at all" Jen comments.

"If nothing else it makes you special" Josh states and Emma gives him a look like he had grown two heads. He chuckles. "What I mean is, you shouldn't be ashamed for being different Emma"

"Josh is right. Despite your stuttering you are a very bright and talented young girl" Gin adds in proudly.

"Usually lots of geniuses may appear to be weird or different to normal folks, look at Albert Einstein for example" Emilie says wisely.

"Plus Jen and I still want our pictures" Meghan winks and smiles at the girl, Emma gives her a small tiny smile back and the actress feels as though she had just won the lottery. Though the smile was tiny it was the first real smile she has seen from the girl.

"So what do you say Emma?" Gin asks with hope in her eyes. She really wanted to get to know this girl more, she helped fill a void that has felt empty for so long. Her heart felt lighter around this child and she didn't have to think about the loss of her own child who would be Emma's age right now. Sure it hurt to think that this is what it could've been like if her Emma had still been around, but she ignored her aching heart as she realized how lonely this Emma was, and that made her forget about her own sadness as she tried to make this child happy and try to help take her loneliness away, even if she could only help the girl for a little bit she hoped it was enough.

Emma goes quiet for a moment as she thinks. She would have to make sure Richard was ok with this, but what if he didn't let her hang out with them, what if this was her only chance to create some good memories. She didn't get to have those very often. If she had to let the man know she would, but she wasn't going to go hunt the man down. That man who was obviously too busy to be with her anyway.

"I…I…I…wou….woul…would…I….mea…mean…if…yo…you…don…don't…mi…mind….I'd…lik…like…to…see…th…the….mov…movie…movies…wit…with…yo…you…gu…guys" Emma blushes and ducks her head down, completely afraid that she sounded desperate and pathetic. She really enjoyed hanging out with these guys and not just because they were famous celebrities, but they made her feel like she was part of the group even if she wasn't very sociable. She only hoped that they wouldn't eventually grow tired of her, eventually people always grew tired of her even if they say in the beginning that her stuttering doesn't bother them. Although Emma knew her time with these amazing people would probably be short, she craved to prolog the unavoidable departure that would eventually come.

"This is great! It's been a while since we've had a Potter Party!" Meghan says happily.

"Yeah but we need to buy some snacks though" Lana grinned.

"We should invite Jared to since he'll be mad if he wasn't invited to the Potter Party" Gin stated.

"I'll go and get him; he's still hanging out at the game room right?" Jen asks.

"Yeah, you know how that boy loves the arcade" Lana smiles as she shakes her head.

"I'll come with you" Josh suggested. He gives Gin a quick kiss on the cheek before standing up to leave with his coworker and friend.

"This is going to be so much fun! Emma you are going to love the movies!" Gin says excitedly.

"Should we go ahead and head up to your room Gin?" Emilie asks.

"Wait we should probably ask Richard if it's ok to take Emma for a movie marathon" The actress replies.

Emma's body stiffens at the mention of that man, she had hoped to avoid him but she should have known she couldn't. She sighs and decides that it was better to ask the man alone and not get the beautiful actress involved with him. Something about him just made her stomach feel sick and she didn't want that man anywhere near either of these kind people. She forces her body to move now that her strength is back after having the best meal in forever and gets up from her chair.

"I'll…go…fi…fin…find…hi…him…an…and…ask…if…it's…ok"

"Are you sure you don't want either of us to come with you sweetheart?" Gin asks.

Emma shakes her head. "I'll…be…qu…qu…quic…quick" She answers.

"Ok, well my room is on the top floor and is room number 108. Just meet us there whenever you're ready" The actress smiles. Emma nods, and turns to head for the entrance counter so that she could ask where to find Richard was at in this huge hotel. She hoped that he would allow her to spend more time with the cast, but even if he forbid it, she would sneak to Gin's room anyway because her room just so happened to be right next to the famous actress. It didn't matter to her if he would yell at her or hit her later; she just wanted to have a few more good moments in her life that she could enjoy. The good quiet moments always helped her get through the horrible times in her life, even if this man became abusive just like all the other homes have been, at least here she had already seemed to made some friends. She only hoped that they wouldn't walk out of her life so quickly, at least not yet, deep down Emma knows that they will eventually. It was her destiny to always be alone, but for now she would enjoy whatever time she could have with them.

**TBC! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Fairytale Ending**

**I know it's short, but sadly I have a lot of studying ahead of me and I just wanted to get a little something out there for you guys, hope you enjoy it. And as always please Review! **

**Chapter 4**

Richard wasn't happy, that much was clear to Emma as they silently walked into his office that was on the first floor. When she had found out that the meeting was being held in a bigger size room than Richard's office that wasn't far from it, he had been furious to see her walk in but he didn't allow the other people in the meeting to see that anger. Because Emma was good at reading people just by looking into their eyes she knew she was about to get an earful.

"You damn little brat you just had to come and interrupt my meeting didn't you!?" He yells and slams a fist onto his desk. Emma jumps at the loud noise. "Tell me what is so important that couldn't wait until I was off work?" He folds his arms over his chest and leans against his desk.

"I…I….wa…was…won…wond….wonde…wonder….wondering….if…if…"

"Ugg just spit it out already damn! You're supposed to be some kind of kid genius and you can't even talk normal" The man growls impatiently.

Emma blinks the threatening tears that wanted to fall. She wasn't at all surprised by the kind acting he had been pulling in front of the others early; she was used to this, but she silently scolded herself for wanting to cry.

"I…I…wa…wan't…to…han…hang…out…wi…with…my…frie…frie…friends…in…th…thei…their…room….and….wa..watc…watch…mo….mov…movies" Emma explained as quickly as she could, desperately trying not to look down at the floor out of fear. She had to let this man see how much she wanted to be with the cast.

"Are you talking about the Once Upon a Time cast?" He questions, and she nods. A sick smile that makes her heart drop to her stomach graces across his lips. "All right I don't see why not" He shrugs and for a split second her heart is filled with joy at the thought of getting to spend more time with the cast. "But, there's something I want you to do for me" Richard walks over to sit at the chair on his desk and he unbutton his pants. "Come here" He orders. "Don't bother screaming because this room is silent proof, and if you even think about telling anyone about this I send you back into the foster care system so fast you won't have a chance asking for help. And if you somehow manage to tell someone I'll make sure they won't believe you because unlike your previous owners who probably left marks as evidence all over I'm not as stupid. If you do simple little things to please me you will live a nice comfortable little life with no worries. Now come here" He orders again after explaining her situation.

Emma's heart is pounding and her mind is screaming at her to run but she has no doubt that this man has probably already locked the door when they came into his office.

"If you don't do as I say I won't ever let you hang out with the cast ever again" He adds.

Green eyes go wide with fear, she couldn't let him take away her only happiness. Once again those damn tears threaten to fall as she slowly makes her way over to the older man, her stomach felt sick as he continued to grin at her.

"Put your hands in my pants and rub my penis little one" He says almost gentle like.

"Pl…plea…pleas….please…don…don't" Emma begs softly with desperate eyes.

The man growls and roughly grabs a fist full of hair causing her to cry out from the pain.

"Remember I'm your new daddy girl, and if you don't do as daddy says you'll be punished" he warns.

Emma whimpers but does as he says and puts her hand down his pants and rubs the penis just as he ordered her to. She felt sick to her stomach as tears silently fell from her eyes, she had to do this she reminded herself, she couldn't bear the thought of this man keeping her away from the cast. It didn't matter what kind of abuse he put her through she would be fine once she could leave him, she was strong, and she was a survivor.

"Hmm good girl, tell me how much you love your new daddy"

Emma shivers and tries and bites her tongue, she didn't want to talk like that but she didn't want to feel his anger either. "I…I…lo…lo…lov…love…yo…you…da…da…dad…daddy" Emma says through hiccups that came from the crying.

A few minutes pass and Richard finally pushes Emma away freeing the girl from her torture so that he could zip his pants back up. "That was great little one, it definitely helped me relaxed after all the crap I have to deal with. Now then I need to get back to the meeting, I told them I would only be gone for a few minutes in order to get you settled" He explained. "Have fun with your friends" He walks out of the office and leaves the child alone.

Emma quickly runs out of the office and runs to one of the restrooms, thankfully it was completely empty. She starts to wash her hands with soap and rubs her hands together as she tries to demand the tears to stop falling as her body begins to shake. After a few more minutes Emma finally stops the running water even though she still felt completely disgusted with herself, deep down she knew it wasn't her fault because she didn't have a choice but to listen to that horrible man, she didn't want to go back to the foster care system and get placed in a home with multiple foster siblings and even more uncaring foster parents, she was tired of constantly moving from one home to the next. Emma splashes some water onto her face in order to wash away the evidence that she had been crying. Once her eyes didn't appear to look too red anymore she finally leaves the restroom and makes her way to the elevators so that she could arrive to the top floor. Her mind was racing over everything that had just happened. If anyone knew what she had done they would think she was disgusting, pathetic, or completely broken inside. The child shakes her head once the elevator door opens in order to clear her mind. She had to appear like she was all right in front of the cast, she really wanted to be friends with them so she couldn't look like she was falling to pieces. Once Emma walking over to Gin's room number she knocks on the door and patiently waits for a respond. When the door opens she sees a young boy in his early teens, probably about 14 or 15 years old.

"Hi there, you must be Emma!" He beams at her excitedly.

She nods as she stares in awe and realizes that this was the boy who played Henry on the show. "Is…Gi..Ginn…Ginn…Ginnifer here?" She asks shyly.

Jared smiles and opens the door all the way so that she could step inside. "Sure is. Meghan's in the kitchen making all kinds of snack and yummy treats. Gin's in the living room with everyone else" He explained as he closed the door behind them. Emma looks around and sees the familiar faces.

"Hey Emma! We wondering when you were gonna show" Gin says happily. She gets off the couch where she had been sitting with her husband and makes her way over to greet the child.

"So…so…so…sorr…sorry…I…I…ha…had…to…wait…ti…till…Ric…Rich…Rich…Richar…Richard…cou…could…st…ste…step….out…of…the….mee…meeting" Emma lied. She sighed once again exhausted from talking. Meghan comes over and hands Emma a glass of water, which the child gratefully accepts. Sometimes her throat would ach if she talked too much, but as long as she had something to drink nearby it helped.

"No problem, where just glad you could come join us" Gin smiles.

"Th…tha….than….thank…yo…you"

"So Emma do you have a favorite Harry Potter character?" Jared asks curiously.

Emma blushes. "I…li…lik…like…Her…Herm…Hermi….Hermione" She mumbles softly.

"Guess that shouldn't surprise us considering you're probably just as smart if not smarter than she is" Meghan grins proudly.

"My favorite would have to be Ron I think" Jared states in.

"I love the twins, Fred and George. There just too funny" Meghan pipes in.

"I think Hermione is my favorite as well since my character Belle loves books just as much as she does" Emilie says from the couch.

"Ok, ok, are we going to start the movie or what?" Lana wines also from the couch.

"Yeah movie time!" Jennifer comments from the floor.

Gin just laughs and shakes her head. "You've got the drink and popcorn ready Meghan?"

"Sure do!" Gin walks over to help her friend bring all the goodies over to the small coffee table in the middle of the living room. Lana, Josh, and Emilie all hung out on the long couch that could fit at least six people. Jared planted himself on the floor in front of Lana and next to Jennifer.

"Here Emma come sit with us, while the girls bring all of our goodies for us" Lana smiles lovingly. It was such a warm and inviting smile that Emma simply could not ignore the kind request. It was nice to see after being haunted by the sick smile Richard had given her earlier. She make her way over and sits between Lana and Emilie as Josh sits next to Emilie on her right side. Emma felt a strange unfamiliar feeling, she felt warm and happy just by being with these people, she could the self-loathing and disgust she felt her slowly leaving her, she could pretend for just a while that nothing had happened at all between her and Richard. "You're in for a real treat Emma, these movies are nearly just as good as the books, which doesn't often happen with many movie book adaptations" Lana explains.

"Yeah does anybody remember the horrible Twilight incident?" Emilie scrunches her face up in disgust.

"No real vampire sparkles!" Jared practically yells.

"And I can't see real vampires enjoying animal blood compared to human blood" Meghan says as she flops down at the end of the couch leaving enough space so that Gin could sit next to her husband. Emma giggles, it was a tiny laugh, something she hasn't done in a long time and it made her feel light and relaxed as she listened to the fun and energetic group. Gin smiles brightly as she heard that beautiful sound that had come from Emma. She hoped she would get to hear her laugh even more as she spends time with the girl.

During the movies Emma's eyes were completely glued to the screen, she couldn't get enough of the magical world that Harry Potter came from. It helped her forget about that horrible time with Richard and she wished that she could stay content like this forever and never have to remember about her dark past, with a future that didn't seem so pleasant so long as Richard was around.

**TBC! **


	6. Chapter 6

**Fairytale Ending**

**Hey everyone sorry for the late update. Been busy trying to get ready for the spring semester before I have to move, getting things I need for my dorm and getting set up for my classes, you know all the craziness of transferring and such. Despite all the hassle I am very excited and can't wait to start the next chapter of my life. Anyway enough about me I know you all care more about the story haha, hope you all love this chapter and please continue to review, your reviews keep me motive and inspired to write.**

**P.S Last night some of you may have gotten a notice that chapter 5 was up, and it was for a short while until I noticed some mistakes so I took it down in order to fix those mistakes. I'm sorry about the confusion and I hope the wait was worth it. **

**Chapter 5**

The next day Emma was sitting in one of the many restaurants that the hotel had to offer, and eating breakfast by herself. Last night had been one of the best days of her life! She still had nightmares about Richard after Gin had walked her over to her room, to which she was ecstatic to find out that she was right next door from hers. They didn't get to finish the entire series but the actors had invited her over to finishing watching the last couple of movies tonight. Emma never wanted this weekend to end, although she was scared of Richard at least she finally had some friends to escape to, even if only for a couple hours.

Despite not even being seven yet Emma had always been a morning person, the nightmares usually kept her from getting much sleep. She was used to functioning throughout the day with only a couple of hours of sleep though. A tired yawn escapes her as she rubs the sleep from her eyes. Although she was used to little sleep, that didn't mean it went without side affects every now and then.

"Emma your up early"

The child looks up to see Lana, Gin, and Jennifer all dressed like goddesses. Lana wore skinny black pants, a black tank top, black high heels, and a black and white blazer that fit her body like a glove. Gin also looked amazing in Brian Reyes black and white dress withe matching black dress shoes to complete her amazing style. Jennifer also looked like a millions dollars in a casual yet sophisticated monochrome mixed stripe dress, and a pair of chunky black cut boots.

Emma looks down at her attire and feels like she doesn't deserve to be in front of these three goddesses. She was in a pair of old faded jeans, a plain red t-shirt, and sneakers. "Umm...mo...mo...morn...morning" She mumbles shyly.

Gin smiles and the three actresses take a seat at Emma's table. The girl looks up completely surprised.

"So did you enjoy the movies last night?" Jennifer asks.

Emma blinks but quickly nods. "Th...they...wer...were...near...nearly...as...go...good...as...the...boo...books" She answered, unable to hide the excitement in her tone despite still being shy around the cast.

Gin grins. "There pretty amazing that's for sure. Not many books turned into movies are nearly as good as the Harry Potter films turned out to be"

"Do you have any plans today Emma?" Lana asks curiously.

Emma finishes the last bite of her breakfast and swallows it down with a sip of her water.

She shakes her head. "No...m...ma...ma'am"

Lana smiles. "Please dear just call me Lana where all Potter head fans here, so no formalities are needed" She winks at Emma and earns a small smile from the child.

"The girls and I were thinking about going shopping to the mall that's within walking distance from here. Would you like to join us?" Gin asks with hope. She really wanted to spend more time with this girl. She was such a sweet child.

Once again Emma looks down feeling completely ashamed. "I...I...don...don't...ha...have...an...any...mon...money" She speaks softly.

"No need to worry dear we would be happy to buy you some new clothes!" Gin quickly tries to comfort the girl's worries.

"Yeah it'll be fun!" Jen agrees.

"Besides I still owe you for that drawing you gave me" Gin adds in.

Emma again looks up at the stars suddenly feeling irritated, did they want to buy her new clothes because hers weren't good enough? She knew she probably looked like some street kid because there had been a time where she had to survive out on the street, it was either that or that horrible home she had escaped from. These clothes may not be star material but they were her clothes! She angrily pushes her chair back and hops out of her seat. "I'm...so...so...sorry...bu...but...I...don't...wa...want...to...be...some...charit...charity...case!..I...kn...kno...know...I...prob...bably...loo...look...li...ke...som...e...st...reet...ki...d...but...I...don't...com...come...fro...me...mon...money...an...d...I...don't...wan...want...you...your...mon...mon...ey!" Emma yelled as she tried to get everything out in one breathe. It was frustrating when her stuttering got in the way and now she was exhausted. She needed water but she had finished her glass already and she didn't want to stay around these people anymore. She should have known that they didn't see her as an equal, that she was just some charity case to make them look good, just like Richard was using her.

"Emma, no we didn't mean-"

But before Gin could try to explain or apologize the child genius quickly takes off and makes her way for the exit outback.

"Well that didn't go well" Jen sighs.

"We have to go after, we should have been more careful on how to invite her with us" Gin says sadly, looking at the direction she had seen Emma disappear to.

"But we didn't do anything wrong? We were just inviting her to go shopping with us" Jen says confused.

"Yeah but try to see it from her point of view. Were famous celebrities with a lot of money, while she is a foster child that had come from nothing so she thinks we might be using her to make us look good for the press or our fans" Lana explains.

"So what do we do?" Jen questions.

"I'm going after her, she has to know that we don't care she doesn't come from money and that we aren't trying to use her in anyway" Gin announces.

"We'll wait for you guys here and get something to eat ourselves" Lana nods as she can understand Gin's feelings for wanting to comfort the girl. She wanted to help her friend, but Lana had a feeling if all three of them went together it would overwhelm the poor child. Gin nods and gives her friends a grateful smile before also taking off in the direction Emma had gone.

Meanwhile Emma couldn't stop the tears from falling, her tiny body was shaking as she tried to wipe away the unwanted tears. Why did this always have to happen to her?! Every time she got close to someone something bad always happened, she could never trust them and so she would push them away before they could hurt her. All Emma wanted was friends and a family she could count on, but that would never happen she was unwanted. And because she had yelled at the celebrities they would probably think she was some ungrateful winey little brat. She was never good enough for anyone, if someone was actually kind to her it was because they were using her for their own personal agenda. Now more than ever she wished that she could just disappear, she should have never made any kind of contact with those actresses. She should have just kept admiring them from afar, at least then they couldn't hurt her, she could still see them as her heroes.

"Emma!"

Instantly her body goes stiff as she hear the familiar voice calling for her. She turns around and her blurry vision sees a frantic Ginnifer Goodwin. Green eyes glare at the unwanted star as she quickly rubs away the last few fallen tears and finally gaining some control over her shaken form.

"Emma thank goodness. Listen sweetheart I'm sorry if my friends and I made you feel uncomfortable or insecure in any kind of way, that wasn't our intention"

"Yo..you...fo...for...forge..t...Mrs...Dal...Dallas...I...may...be...a...ki...d...bu...t...I'm...al..so...a...gen...gen...ius...I..kn...ow...wha...what...peop...le...lik...like...you...thi...nk...of...peop...ple...me!" Emma literally stomps her foot out of frustration. When she was angry and she wanted to get her words out faster it always made her even more frustrated than she already had been. It was like a chore trying to express her feelings, she just wanted to be normal!

Gin flinches at the coldness in the young girl's voice and at being called by her surname.

"Emma you have to believe me that my friends and I really just wanted to spend more time with you, we had so much fun last night. Didn't you enjoy our evening together?" The actress asks with hope dripping from her words.

How could Emma not have had any fun with them? It had been like a dream that she never wanted to wake up from. "I...can...can't..." Emma stumbles with her words not sure what to say as tears threaten to fall again. Her eyes shined with unshed tears and all Ginnifer wanted to do was bring the poor child into her arms.

"You can't what sweetie?" She tries to encourage the girl to open up without forcing it out of her, the child needed to feel that she was safe.

"I...can't...I'm...not...wa...wan...wanted...if...I...st...ay...too...lo...lo...long...yo...you'll...gr...ow...grow...tir...ti...red...of...me...I...don...don't...wan...want...yo...you...to...ha...ha...te...me...I'm...sor...sorry...I...yell...ed...I...thou...ght...you...wer...were...usi...using...me...peo...peo...ple...who...are...ni...ni...ce...to...me...wa...wan...want...some...th...thing..."Emma sighs already feeling emotionally drained. "I...had...fun...yes...ter...yester...day...but...goo...good...mom...ents...like...tha...that...ne...never...las...last"

"Listen Emma I can't imagine the things you have gone through growing up in the foster care system but I promise you I am not here to use you or hurt you in anyway. I simply want to be your friend that is all, and there will never be a time where I will suddenly stop wanting to hang out with you when I'm not busy. I enjoy being with you and so do the rest of my friends, we had so much fun with you last night. You are such a sweet and bright young girl I can't believe that nobody would not want to have you as their very own" Gin spoke with a brave face but images of her baby haunted her mind. She sees herself singing a lullaby to the beautiful baby girl in her arms. The actress ignores the ache in her own heart as she focuses on the Emma that needed her here and now.

Emma stares at her complete unsure of what to do or say. She so badly wanted to believe the actress and she could tell by looking into her eyes that she wasn't lying, that her words were genuine but that didn't mean this woman still couldn't hurt her. Maybe not intentionally but every time Emma allowed herself to grow close to someone they would leave her or she would be taken away from them. She could see the hope in the young woman's eyes and despite her own fears screaming at her to run away she just couldn't ignore the actress. She had been nothing but kind to Emma and for once it felt as though the kindness wasn't some kind of trick.

With a heavy sigh the child looks down in shame. "I'm...sor...sor...ry"

Gin gives the child a small smile as she fights the urge to bring her into her arms and comfort the poor girl. But she didn't want to push her luck and scare the girl off, she had finally made some kind of break through. "It's alright Emma, I'm sorry for upsetting you as well. We don't have to go shopping if that makes you feel uncomfortable, we could hang out in the game room if you like"

Emma looks up at her. "Um...do...do...yo...you...thi...think,...coul...could...yo...you...teac...teach...me...some...th...thing?" She questions shyly.

Gin blinks surprised by the sudden request. "What do you want me to teach you?" She asks curiously.

"Umm...arc...arch...archery?" Emma asks carefully, unsure if the actress will be annoyed by the request after having yelled at her and acting so bratty just moments ago.

Gin eyes are wide with surprise but even she can't stop a proud smile from gracing her lips. "You want to learn archery?" Her tone is filled with excitement.

Emma doesn't answer right away as she studies the actress to make sure she really wasn't upset with her over her outburst, the simple question made it seem as though the actress had already forgotten her tantrum. Emma nods. "Y...yes...pl...plea...please

"I'd love to teach you!" Gin spoke with pure excitement.

"Re..re...ally...yo...your...no...not...ma...d?" Emma whispered so softly that Gin would have missed it had she not been watching and listening to the girl carefully.

"Oh sweetie, I'm not mad. I understand why you took off and I am so sorry that my friends and I made you feel uncomfortable, that was never our intention. If you really want to learn archery I'd be happy to teach you all that I know"

Ginnifer held her hand out and waited patiently, hoping that the child would trust her and follow her back into the hotel. When she felt the tiny hand grab hold of hers, her heart fluttered with joy. How anyone could not simply adore this beautiful bright child would be something that she could never understand. The young actress and genius finally make their way back into the hotel. When they made it back to Lana and Jen the two actresses were just finishing up with their breakfast.

"I'm afraid that I am going to have reschedule our shopping trip girls" Gin announces.

"Is everything all right?" Lana asks carefully. She can see the bright smile that her friend now wore, and she was curious as to what happen between the woman and child.

"Everything is great. Emma here has asked if I could teach her a little bit of archery and I told her that I would be happy to" she explains happily.

"That's great! Gin is the best archer out of the whole cast! We all got to have a chance to mess around a bit with the bow and arrow but Gin had way more patience for it then we

did" Jen explains to Emma.

"We'll I kind of had to because of my character but I really loved the lessons, it was really exciting once I finally started to get good at"

(-Fun fact, I saw in an interview that Ginnifer Goodwin really was trained the proper way to use a bow and arrow-)

"We hope you have fun Emma. Will you still be joining us tonight?" Lana asks with her warm and gentle smile.

Emma nods while still holding onto Gin's hand. She looks down at the floor as she speaks to the celebrities. "I...I...I...I'm...sor...sorr...sor...sorr...y...fo...for...get..gett...gett...ing...mad...an...and...fo.. ...yelling...at...yo...you...gu...guy...guys" She says shamefully.

It is Lana who gets up out of her seat and gracefully makes her way to kneel down to Emma's level. "Emma please look at me" She says in a gentle tone. The child obeys but looks at her warily, she looked as though she was waiting to be slapped or yelled at. "You have nothing to be sorry for. It was us who should have been more sensitive and careful and checking with you first if we could buy things for you. We never intended to make you feel ashamed or uncomfortable about not coming from money, we could careless about what's in your bank account. The thing is Emma even though we've only known you for a short while we really enjoy spending time with you. You are such a sweet and bright young girl, how could anyone not enjoy being with you?" Lana smiles at the end of her speech hoping she had gained some kind of trust with the girl.

Emma's eyes are filled with hope and longing, she could really see that Lana eyes were genuine. Tired of being alone, the genius starts to think that maybe this time these people won't suddenly just abandon her like everyone else in her life has. Although she knew she shouldn't cave in and trust these people Emma knew that if she was going to survive living with Richard for a while anyways, at least until he sent her back like everybody else did, she was going to need some kind of outlet, an escape.

Finally Emma nods. "Th...than...than...thank...yo..you...La...La..na" She looks up at Jennifer. "Tha...than...thank...yo...you...Je...Jen...I...rea...really...enj...enjo...enjoy...spen...ding...tim..time...with...yo...you...gu...guys...to" Emma gives them her small and shy smile.

Jen beams. "We hope you have fun Emma, and we'll see you later ok"

Emma nods as she gently squeezes Gin's hand for some kind of comfort. It had been hard for Emma to open up to the idea of trusting these people, but she craved for some kind of friendship in her life. And though she was scared that one day she would lose them, she would try to enjoy the time she was given to be with them whenever she could and however long she could.

The young actress smiles proudly at Emma and then turns her attention to Lana as she stands herself back up. "Now then, are you ready for some archery lessons Emma?" Gin questions. As Emma looks at Gin she nods once again giving her that shy smile. Ginnifer hoped that she could get a bright and fearless smile out of the child some day, a smile that said she was no longer afraid to be her true self around her and her friends. Emma and Gin said their goodbyes to the other actresses before the woman and child set off to begin their exciting day together.

**To Be Continued**!


End file.
